What’s In a Brand Name?

Aside from your logo the first encounter that a potential customer will have with your brand is with your name. Not only should your brand name identify your product, its value proposition, be memorable, sound catchy and roll off your tongue easily (that’s quite a lot to ask) but they also resonate with your target audience, for the right reasons. Nobody wants to be known as the company that branded Ayds diet candy or SARS soda. Remember, the goal is to get consumers to buy the product, not to make them afraid to touch it!

I am sure that some of you by now are even questioning the reasons behind naming a brand. In the 70’s and 80’s many North American & French grocery stores introduced no name brands that were priced lower than many of the popular brands. These brands, known for there plain packaging and minimal product information were scooped up by shoppers looking for bargains. So why go to all the trouble to find a brand name for your product? If consumers can’t identify you, they can’t punish the brands that disrespect them and reward those that do.

We don’t have to look further than the Soviet Union’s decision to abolish brand names in 1917 after the Communist revolution. This left producers with little incentive to produce better goods and they reacted by spitting out low-quality products. This put consumers in a tough position. They didn’t know who to punish. Brand names motivate companies to produce better products, building on their past performances to charge more for their new products. I haven’t seen the prices drop on newer models of smartphones or cars lately. And companies that don’t put the bar higher, risk facing the wrath of the market – people won’t buy your product.

Brand names communicate a message such as the company’s core values. For instance, when Pampers was introduced by Procter and Gamble in the 60’s, cloth diapers were the only products being used by mothers to wrap their children until they were ready to use a toilet. P&G wanted to communicate to mothers that a disposable diaper would “pamper” their child just as much as a cloth diaper. P & G, the early innovators in marketing research, no doubt tested their brand name with those affluent households that they were targeting initially.

And most likely when the product was introduced, the brand manager would have liked to have used a research tool like Brand Aloud. He would’ve known months before the launch if his target audience would have identified with the name at a fraction of the cost that Benton & Bowles, the ad agency that coined the Pampers name. We provide you with a unique brand name that’s been selected by your target market so you know that they can identify with it. We’ll ensure that your new brand name will be protected from your competition by registering it as a legal trademark. It’s your brand and nobody can tell you different.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!